


The Beginnings

by ScentedStrangerCreation



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-12-17 00:54:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21045617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScentedStrangerCreation/pseuds/ScentedStrangerCreation
Summary: Elissa might be broken, but at least she isn't alone.





	The Beginnings

Elissa could feel Alistair’s eyes on her.

“You know, despite what you might think, I am completely capable of taking care of myself.” She said, shoving her sleeping roll successfully, if inelegantly, into her pack.

She stood up to face him. Slinging the canvas bag over her shoulder, she attempted to maintain an unaffected look she had practiced since childhood. She hoped it produced the same air of stoic nobility her father seemed to achieve effortlessly. A pang of grief shot through her chest and dropped to her stomach. The memories of her father and mother, along with the last burning images of Highever, were still fresh in her mind. She couldn’t quite decide if she wanted them to fade. What would replace them if they were gone? 

“Oh—me? No. I was just—,” Alistair stumbled over his words, shuffling his feet in the dirt and dragging a hand through his messy hair.

She might have liked him once. He was handsome and kind in an unassuming way. But the girl that would have been charmed by his performance had died along with the rest of her family. She shifted the oversized pack on her back, only succeeding in spilling its contents onto the ground. 

Ducking down, she hastily scraped together her belongings. Alistair moved quickly, crouching at her side before she could protest.

“It took me a while to get used to life on the road.” He said, not looking up as he rerolled her haphazardly bundled sleeping pad, “Here– put this at the bottom.” He scooted the mat towards her, and she took it without comment, continuing to follow his suggestions in silence.

Together they repacked the bag, decidedly more effectively than her first attempt. Alistair pushed himself to stand, dusting off his hands before offering one to her. She hesitated for a moment, before accepting it and pulling herself up.

“Thank you.” She said, avoiding his eyes.

“I um—I just wanted to say,” he scratched the back of his head as he stumbled over his words. She braced herself for the same empty platitudes she couldn’t seem to avoid. But, whether due to her expression or on his own volition, he seemed to change his mind.

“Just wanted to warn you that whatever Daveth is cooking up over there smells like a crime.” He stuck his thumb out towards the rogue, who was diligently stirring something thick and pale in a pot over a small fire. “Seriously. If whatever’s in that pot doesn’t kill you, the darkspawn it’ll attract probably will.”

A small laugh escaped her throat, surprising both of them.

“Thanks for the warning.” She said, this time looking him in the eye.

“Any time,” he smiled, rubbing a hand through his hair again, seemingly trying to settle his gaze anywhere but on her.

“Well, anyway, uh—see you over there… I guess.” He turned, and headed back to the rest of the group.

It took her a moment to realize a smile still hung at the corners of her lips, remnants of the impulsive laugh. It felt foreign and was gone as quickly as it came. Swinging her bag onto her back again she walked towards Alistair and the rest of their strange little group.

* * *

She would think of this moment months later, as she lay quietly in Alistair’s embrace. It wasn’t when she fell in love with the warrior, but it was the first time she felt something akin to relief; a simple respite from the insanity that surrounded them. Alistair had a way of providing security and comfort when neither should possibly exist. 

She still ached for Highever, for her parents, for revenge. But Alistair was her home now, and she hoped he always would be.


End file.
